While the average hedge fund asset allocation by public pension funds has been on the decline due to concerns with low performance and high fees, interest from Canada’s largest pension fund remains strong.
China's flagship retirement fund has selected the domestic asset managers to run the equity portion of the new Public Pension Fund scheme, reports state media.
Investments under China's new Public Pension Fund scheme will be more conservative than those of the National Council for Social Security Fund, says NCSSF chairman Lou Jiwei.
The public pension fund scheme is set to see its investment scope widened to include private and foreign markets, as asset managers are about to receive their first equity allocations.
Lou Jiwei, previously China’s finance minister and former chair of China Investment Corporation, has another big job ahead of him – at the National Council for Social Security Fund.
Eligible asset managers must submit applications by October 31 under the new public pension fund scheme, with the chosen firms to be announced by the end of the year.
Mainland provinces are set to sign contracts with the National Council for Social Security Fund, which will hand portfolios to firms approved to run public pension fund assets by late December.
The $233 billion state retirement fund plans to add new types of fixed income assets and amend the rules governing its investment approach and overseas allocations.
The firm is the first since 2007 to win a licence to run enterprise annuity money in China, but must now build a team, as asset managers eagerly await mainland public pension fund reforms.
China’s social security investment council is expected to be given a swathe of new pension mandates, but it will need to take on more external managers to handle the workload.
Chinese asset managers are tipped for 20 new mandates under the national public pension fund reform which is set to be announced soon, while 30% of the investments are expected to be in equity assets.
The Chinese government has announced it plans to broaden the investment scope of the country's major state pension scheme, leading to an expansion into alternatives and more mandates for domestic mutual funds.